1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a writing utensil, and more particularly to a writing utensil having a writing stem whose surface includes a section made of a soft elastic material and another section made of a hard material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional writing utensil, its writing stem includes a fingertip support section which comes into contact with a fingertip of the user who grips the writing stem. The fingertip support section is made of a soft elastic material to achieve a non-slip effect.
Such a soft elastic material constitutes a barrel section separate from another section made of a hard material in the writing stem. The writing utensil is manufactured by fitting the barrel section in an annular groove made of a hard material, or by integrally molding the writing stem, which consists of a section made of a soft elastic material and another section made of a hard material, through a dichromatic molding technique, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2537274.
When using the writing utensil, the user usually grips the writing stem with three fingers. That is, the thumb, the forefinger, and the middle finger grip the writing stem. However, in addition to those fingers, the interdigital portion between the thumb and the forefinger sustains the writing stem. If the interdigital portion contacts a hard section in the writing stem, the user may feel finger fatigue from continuous writing. Also, if the interdigital portion slips off the writing stem, the user's grip may become unstable.